Sunday, February 9th saw the kickoff of the yearly anticipated Super Bowl. This year’s matchup featured the Philadelphia Eagles challenging the Kansas City Chiefs. For the Eagles, this game was a chance at revenge. The Eagles fell to the Chiefs 38-35 in Super Bowl LVII back in 2023. For the Chiefs, this game was a chance to enshrine themselves in the history books. Coming off back to back championships, the Chiefs sought to win a third straight. The feat of achieving a three-peat has never been accomplished in the Super Bowl era. The only NFL team to win three straight championships was the Green Bay Packers from 1965 to 1967; however, two of these championships came before the Super Bowl was created.
Both teams started the game out slow, with two controversial penalties forcing each team’s first drive to end in a punt. Philadelphia was able to build momentum as their second drive went 69 yards and was capped off by a Jalen Hurts touchdown. The first quarter ended with the Eagles leading 7-0. In the second quarter, Philadelphia’s defense dominated the Chiefs. A series of sacks helped build momentum before Cooper DeJean ultimately picked off Patrick Mahomes. The rookie corner was able to return his first career interception for a touchdown, propelling the Eagles lead. A second interception, this time by linebacker Zack Baun, and a touchdown pass to AJ Brown furthered the Eagles’ onslaught. They entered halftime up 24-0. Mahomes finished the first half with only 33 yards, and the Chiefs as a whole had a total of 23 yards. The second half was more of the same. The Eagles dominant defense and explosive offense was enough for them to carry their lead to 34-6 entering the fourth quarter. The Chiefs were able to rebound slightly in the fourth, but it was far too little and far too late.
As the clock hit zero, the Eagles held a lead of 40 to 22. Philadelphia secured the city’s second ever Super Bowl win, the first coming in 2017. The honor of Super Bowl MVP was awarded to Jalen Hurts. The quarterback finished with 17 completions on 22 pass attempts, 221 yards, 2 touchdowns, and an interception. The phrase ‘defense wins championships’, certainly rang true for the Eagles. They generated six sacks, eleven quarterback hits, four pass break ups, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery. Despite the lackluster game, the night was a massive success for the NFL. The game has an average viewership of 127.7 million viewers, up three percent from last year. The halftime show, featuring Kendrick Lamar, generated 133.5 viewers, the most watched halftime show in Super Bowl history.
